And so it begins. The unofficial start of the festival season is triggered this month by the mass gathering of techno talent that is Timewarp, and the week-long marathon offered by Winter Music Conference. Leading up to these there'll be chances to party in the French Alps, roll around Australian fields or club-hop in Amsterdam. Wherever or whenever you chose to get things going, welcome back.

Jetzt Musik, the week-long warm-up festival to Time Warp, will again look to provide an array of challenging (and reasonably priced) creative performances in 2012. Held across a range of venues as diverse as the shows themselves, Jetzt Music explores the possibilities of electronic music outside of the nightclub. There's a radio play offered up by Move D and author Thomas Meinecke, while the National Theatre Mannheim will stage improvised ballet to the house sounds of the Highgrade Disharmonic Orchestra, with label members playing off five synchronized laptops. And if that isn't enough, Stefan Goldmann will provide real-time manipulation of classical masterpieces played by the casalQuartett live on-stage.

RA pick: CLR hit the Loft Club on the final night with Chris Liebing preparing you for the madness of Timewarp the following day.

Given the success of Snowbombing down the years, it's surprising that more festivals like it haven't sprung up in its wake. A boutique French equivalent is The Black Weekend, based out of Chamonix, the popular French ski resort on Mont Blanc (Europe's highest peak), which will again be the host location for this fourth edition. If you're making the trip you'll have parties to contend with in both the day and night (including the curiously titled Hot Dog Day) in addition, of course, to the winter sports. In terms of talent there looks to be no fixed sound, rather a digestible selection of DJ and live acts from across scenes, including Carl Craig, DJ Hell, Nick Curly, Noze and I:Cube.

5 Days Off has crafted a reputation that goes beyond the presentation of quality electronic music. Never one to focus entirely on club nights, its younger sibling, 5 Days On, runs simultaneously, showcasing photography and film exhibitions at De Balie Expositie. Over five days (obviously) a wild variety of music will take over two of Amsterdam's most reputable clubs, Paradiso and Melkweg. WhoMadeWho play the opening night at Paradiso, while the UK flow of SBTRKT will provide the kick-off at Melkweg. The intensity is bound to lift with Gaslamp Killer and Hudson Mohawke playing the same bill on Thursday, while day three sees the audio/visual Monolake show nestle in alongside a stable of Ostgut artists, including Steffi, Ben Klock, Tobias. and Ryan Elliott.

RA pick: Jeff Mills celebrates 20 years of his Axis label with an extended set at Melkweg on day two.

When it comes to stadium-sized techno, there aren't many brands more renowned than Awakenings. Held several times a year at various locations across The Netherlands, the festival series is well known for packing a punch with each edition, generally hosting acts that are placed at the tougher end of the techno spectrum. Things are a little more varied this time around, however, with a relatively varied lineup that features the synth-heavy and melodic sounds of Gui Boratto alongside no nonsense names like Speedy J and Gary Beck. Further down the bill you'll find Pan-Pot, Tiefschwarz and Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, each of whom will be dishing out some house-oriented material at the hulking Maassilo complex.

RA pick: Local export Speedy J should bring the goods to his hometown crowd.

A cramped pub. An alley way. In the bed of a truck. Outside a taco shack. Your friend's sisters' University of Texas dorm room. Every square inch is a "venue" during SXSW. Thousands of trend seekers, setters, makers and the guys with badges looking for the convention center (yes, this is a conference as well) all make the journey to the Texas capital to catch a glimpse of this year's potential breakthrough acts. With a reputation built over the last 20-plus years, the event is no longer just the epicenter of indie rock, and is quickly becoming a stop-off for the acoustic and electronically inclined. Chrissy Murderbot, Com Truise, Oneohtrix Point Never and SBTRKT are just a few of the electronic artists you might catch at this year's festival, among hundreds of other rock, folk, hip-hop and experimental artists. And don't worry if you can't afford the badges: beyond the limited capacity at some of the official events, other east Austin happenings are fair game for entry.

RA pick: Thundercat's debut album may have been slept on by some last year, but don't make the same mistake at SXSW.

Playground Weekender is one of Australia's favourite boutique festivals. Held in lush riverside surrounds situated a short drive from Sydney, the three-day event has been celebrated for its relaxed atmosphere and left-of-centre lineups, a combination that has seen the Playground Weekender garner a healthy reputation all around the country. This time around, you'll be able to catch Bonobo, Fat Freddys Drop and Roots Manuva among the house sounds of Damian Lazarus, Lee Burridge and Art Department. Elsewhere on the bill sits disco veteran Greg Wilson, proto-ravers The Orb and Applied Rhythm Technology boss Kirk Degiorgio.

RA pick: Greg Wilson doing his time-honoured thing at the Big Top stage.

When it comes to taking the temperature of the mainstream US dance market, Ultra seems like as good a patient as any. So how much should be read into the event's more underground house and techno bookings this year? Hard to say. But perhaps 2012 will be the year that—dovetailing the recent EDM upsurge in the country—the likes of Seth Troxler and Jamie Jones (both booked for the Sunday) begin to enjoy a next level of Stateside success. What hasn't changed in 2012 is the basic premise: three days of music during WMC week, roughly 150,000 attendees, and numerous colossal stages, dealing in the biggest dance sounds on the planet, with headliners this year including Kraftwerk, Justice, Carl Cox and Sven Vath.

While other Australian electronic and dance music festivals are tending towards more mainstream acts, Future Music Festival continues to evolve by looking to offer a broader range of music to its punters. This year's tour will be headlined by the newly reformed New Order (sans Peter Hook) which gives an indication as to the outside-the-box thinking that goes into the festival. DFA acts past and present will be generously represented, with James Murphy & Pat Mahoney, Hercules & Love Affair, The Rapture, Benoit & Sergio, Holy Ghost! and The Juan Maclean all tagging along. House and techno fans will have something to cheer about also, with DJ sets from Jamie Jones and Sven Vath, as well as a live performance from Aphex Twin. Throw in some Horse Meat Disco and you're looking at a pretty solid day out.

RA pick: Sing along to the Benoit & Sergio live show if you know the words.

For one weekend every March, things look a little bit light lineup-wise in nightclubs around the world. That's because all of techno's leading lights are making their way to Mannheim to kick off the European festival season at Time Warp. Critics sometimes argue that Time Warp hasn't changed their headliners much in the past few years. But look at it the other way around: Why do you think that people like Sven, Richie, Ricardo, Carola, Dice and Dubfire keep coming back for more? It's one of the best run large-scale festivals around, an event whose sprawl necessitates the Maimarkthalle complex, but somehow makes it feel relatively intimate. Joining the aforementioned biggies this year will be a focus on techno in all its forms: Adam Beyer, Chris Liebing, DJ Rush and Dettmann & Klock will all perform, along with another lengthy set coming from Laurent Garnier and his LBS project.

Things got a little weird in Miami last year, what with the Winter Music Conference/Ultra split and the confusion that ensued, but in 2012 it all looks set to get back on track. The conference itself is twice as long, which naturally means more parties, and while Sunday School will be sorely missed, the rest of the usual suspects will no doubt deliver: Crosstown Rebels getting lost at Electric Pickle, Listed with their fleet of intimate boat parties, The Shelborne's non-stop poolside soirees, and so many more. It might take a certain kind of personality (or maybe sense of humor) to fully enjoy it, but you'd be hard-pressed to find something more colorful and expansive than Miami during WMC.

RA pick: Hard to say with so few lineups announced, but you really can't beat the no-frills hedonism of Electric Pickle.

RA's Mark Strauss reports back from one of the most important (and exciting) events on the music technology calendar.

You may have noticed a surge of activity on Twitter and Facebook in the past few weeks from many of the makers of your favorite audio gear. All at once, companies like Moog, Arturia, UAD, and others shot out press releases announcing major new products aimed at DJs and music makers. The reason for this seemingly choreographed onslaught of competitive PR is simple—it's NAMM season.

NAMM, which is short for the National Association of Music Merchants, is an organization that holds an annual conference in Anaheim, California every January. Just like E3 is for the gaming industry or CES is for gadget geeks, the NAMM conference is a chance for the major players in the business to get together and show off what they've been working on for the past year (or more in many cases).

There are many reasons for musicians and producers alike to get excited for it as well. Producers who like to stay current with the latest and greatest gear trends likely spend the weeks preceding NAMM glued to Twitter or blogs to see what's new. Those who might be preparing for a big studio purchase are wise to wait until the NAMM announcements have all been made public to see what options are going to be newly available in the coming months. And if you've been out of the loop for a while, NAMM can be a great place to get a feel for the current pulse in music technology.

After tracking NAMMs gone by from the comfort of my own home for the past few years, I finally made the jump this year and traveled to the west coast to see the spectacle in person. From the crowded and very noisy floor of the Anaheim Convention Center, I sifted through countless demos in order to filter out the most interesting of what I saw and reported back. So without further ado, here's what to get excited about in 2012.

SYNTHS

There were quite a few notable synths shown off at NAMM this year. Among these, some like John Bowen's Solarishave been seen before, but are finally on the verge of getting a solid release date. Others, like Stefan Schmidt's epic handmade analog synth remain a thing of beauty but still out of the reach of reality. To me, though, the most interesting of NAMM's synth announcements came from three gear makers who each unveiled new analog hardware synths that look like they will fall comfortably in the range of affordability for those who are in the market.

Moog Minitaur

Moog was first out of the gates with a pre-NAMM announcement that they would be releasing a desktop format version of their legendary Taurus bass pedals. The Minitaur's small 8.5" x 5.25" size and one-knob-per-function interface will make it a big hit for people who want the Moog two-oscillator bass sound at its most affordable price yet, and don't need all of the controls of the Voyager or Phatty lines. Moog reports that the Minitaur will be available in the spring for $679.

Arturia MINIBrute

There must have been some subconscious alignment in the Arturia and Moog marketing departments, with Arturia delivering a mini-themed analog synth as well. The MINIBrute is a surprising addition to Arturia's product line, which up until this year has been concentrated mostly on software instruments, with the only hardware existing in a support role. This new announcement changes all that though—the MINIBrute is a 100% analog keyboard with a full panel of hands-on control. Additionally, Arturia have developed some interesting new synthesis parameters with names like Metalizer, Ultrasaw and Brute Factor. With that feature set, the announced price point of $549 is pretty amazing; it's safe to say the MINIBrute will be showing up everywhere once it's released in April.

Waldorf Pulse 2

Waldorf was also at NAMM this year with a new addition to their lineup, a re-release of the legendary Pulse synth that had its heyday in the late '90s. The Pulse 2 retains the three-oscillator architecture of the original, adds some new features like paraphonic mode and an arpeggiator, and stuffs all of that into a smaller form that looks to be identical to their Blofeld digital synth. This appears to be the most feature-rich option of the three new analog synthesizers, with an extensive modulation matrix and preset storage. Unfortunately, the prototype at NAMM this year was not working, so we didn't get to hear how it sounds, but it will be reportedly available this summer for 549 euros.

RECORDING

There is always a ton of expensive boutique recording devices among the new releases at NAMM, and this year was no different. Among the usual suspects though, there were a pair of standouts that appeared to provide more utility than just audiophile-grade sparkle.

RME Fireface UCX

The RME booth had a few new interesting options in the higher-end of the recording spectrum, but the one that stuck out was their new UCX audio interface. The UCX has RME's new and very impressive Hammerfall audio core, which means that you can run it with either USB or FireWire, and at the extremely low latency levels that RME are famous for. In addition, there is a pretty substantial DSP engine built into the UCX, which allows you to add effects like reverb and compression to the incoming signal without adding any latency or jitter. Finally, the UCX supports a new breakout box called the Advanced Remote control, which acts like a very smart monitor controller.

Universal Audio Apollo

Universal Audio had a very impressive booth this year at NAMM, with some great demos and live recording sessions that showed off their products. Even more impressive though, was their newest release—a high-end audio interface calledApollo. Like the UCX, the Apollo comes with onboard DSP effects, but takes it to an entirely new level. If you're familiar with UA, their calling card is their UAD Powered line of plugins, which run on DSP breakout boxes like the Duo and Quad. The Apollo comes with these same exact DSP chips built in, so you can apply the effects both pre-DAW and in the plugin form. One of the demos that UA showed off was a video of a live recording session with a band that was tracked directly through an Apollo into ProTools without any additional mixing. It sounded pretty impressive.

AIAIAI TMA-1 Studio

The Copenhagen-based design collaborative AIAIAI was tucked away in an unfortunate spot at this year's NAMM, but the trek through the incredibly noisy drum section was worth it to check out their new TMA-1 Studio headphones. They share much of the same no-nonsense minimal design aesthetic of the TMA-1, but add a few new upgrades. The most notable is that they now employ an over-the-ear design that will allow for more comfort than the original when using them for long periods of time.

EFFECTS

In the effects department there were quite a few new releases at NAMM, spanning all ranges of the affordability spectrum. Measured in sheer quantity, guitar pedals seem to have the majority of the floor space when it comes to effects, but there were some interesting options released for the studio or live use as well.

Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2

Starting at the low end with regards to price and size, Korg unveiled a pair of new ultra-portable additions to their Kaoss family of products. The most intriguing of these is the Mini Kaoss Pad 2, a powerful upgrade to the existing Mini Kaoss Pad. The original was improved in almost every way, with a very nice looking OLED screen, sample playback via microSD slot, a built-in microphone, and a bunch of new effects being added to the normal Kaoss Pad design aesthetic. It's very small size and relatively affordable price of $220 will put this thing in a bunch of people's hands when it is released in May.

KOMA Elektronik BD101 / FT201

The BD101 and FT201 are a pair of interesting new effect units created by Berlin-based KOMA, a relatively new boutique company run by musicians. It's tough for smaller companies like this to have a NAMM presence on their own, so we found these two pieces on display in the booth of the modular specialist store Big City Music. Both of these desktop effect modules feature a 10 socket CV / audio patch bay and an onboard infrared motion controller, which lend them to being used with modular-style analog gear. The BD101 is a gate / delay unit that can create a surprising amount of tone adjustment, and the FT201 is a vactrol state variable filter with a 10 step sequencer. KOMA is already selling the pedals direct from their website for 329 and 349 euros, respectively.

MIDI GEARNot surprisingly, MIDI still reigns supreme when it comes to controller announcements—and this year's NAMM lineup was no exception. There were some bizarre options, like MIDI pianos built into a rocket ship, keyboards that fold in half, and a small resurgence of keytars, but on the whole a pretty standard wave of portable and studio MIDI controllers were announced.

Akai MAX49

Akai came out strong this year with an announcement to partner with iZotope, and a whole new line of computer-based MPC controllers. Perhaps the most interesting announcement they made, though, was the introduction of the MAX49 MIDI keyboard. It features a completely over-hauled keyboard of their own manufacture, and a new set of drum pads which have been redesigned to be much more sensitive (and they felt great during the demo). What's really unique about the MAX49 is the fact that it has CV outputs for trigger and gate, which can be used to drive analog gear either from the keyboard or from the built-in sequencer.

Keith McMillen QuNeo

Keith McMillen, the creator of the SoftStep and 12 Step foot controllers showed off his new drum pad controller, which he calls the QuNeo. At first glance it doesn't look like much, with no labels and a pretty standard layout of pads, faders, and buttons. There is a lot going on under the covers, though: Each of the QuNeo's pads send velocity and continuous pressure info as well as x-y location, and there are multi-touch sensitive encoders and strips that (according to the demo guys) have more resolution than most timecode vinyl. The data can be sent via MIDI without needing a driver, or the QuNeo can be switched into OSC mode and transmit via an intermediary application. Top it all off with the fact that there is multi-color LED feedback on every control, and the thing looks great for $199.

DJ GEAR

All of the usual suspects had their DJ gear on display this year, and quite a few newcomers made some moves to get involved in the world of digital DJing, with wave after wave of jogwheel-style controllers showing up wherever we went. Once you got past the toys, and the Chinese knock-offs, there were a handful of standouts that could turn out to be big news in the DJ world this year.

Numark 4TRAK

Among the interesting new additions found in the Numark booth this year was a new competitor within the high-end Traktor controller market. It sports two very high-resolution jogwheels (3600 ticks per rotation) with two-color LED rings and a huge amount of knobs and buttons, which transmit 14-bit MIDI for super accurate four-channel mixing. Its standout feature, though, is the tilted 12-knob strip that Numark calls the FX Kommand Console. These twelve dedicated knobs give you quick access to the filter and FX devices within Traktor. The 4TRAK rounds things out with a built-in sound card that provides plenty of inputs (4 line, 2 RCA turntable, and 2 microphone) and balanced outputs. It is reportedly going to be available by March with a street price of $1099 (MSRP $1499).

Allen & Heath Xone:DB2 / Xone:K2

At the A&H booth, among the usual lineup of mixers there was a setup of two new devices from the British manufacturer. The Xone:DB2 might already be familiar to you since it was announced back in September. Essentially, it is a stripped down version of the DB4, the powerhouse digital FX mixer that we reviewed this year. The DB2 achieves a lower price point by giving up the dedicated loopers per channel and reducing the FX units from 4 to 2 (now routable by bus). The K2 is a very interesting new release that takes inspiration from Native Instruments' Traktor Kontrol X1, in that it shares the same form factor and size. The biggest difference is that in addition to MIDI control, the K2 also functions as a standalone USB soundcard—a very nice addition.

In the market for a MIDI keyboard and have some money to spend? Step right up.

As you may recall, back in March we took a head-first dive into the crowded world of MIDI keyboard controllers. In doing so, we sifted through the many options out there—selecting a handful of the top items on the market and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each. Those comparisons often lent themselves naturally to a certain type of artist who we thought would be a good match for a given keyboard—after all, as in many things, what's best for me might not be best for you.

That initial piece was constrained to the keyboards that could be bought new for less than 200 euros, and as such featured mostly smaller, more mobile units designed for touring or producing on the go. When it comes time to shop for a keyboard for a studio environment, however, most likely you're going to be looking for something with a higher build quality, a larger octave range, and most likely some way of controlling your DAW. To that end, for this follow-up we increased the budget to 1000 euros and looked for the best of the best when it comes to the heart of many studios—the master MIDI keyboard.

the brand most people (especially in the US) associate with MIDI keyboards. M-Audio has been in the game for nearly a decade, starting with the ubiquitous Oxygen 25 back in 2002. Introduced in 2009, the Axiom Pro line is the newest generation of M-Audio's MIDI lineup, and has quite a few new tricks up its sleeve.

Behind its rather unusual white exterior (a bold choice) lies a surprisingly sophisticated controller that allows for two-way communication between most major DAWs via its HyperControl Technology. Believe it or not, this actually allows for more out-of-the-box integrated control over DAWs like Logic, Cubase, and Ableton Live than you can find with more established platforms like Novation's Automap.

For example, when using HyperControl within Logic you can actually load and control Logic's internal effects from the Axiom Pro keyboard itself. In Ableton Live, almost every internal device has been mapped in some sort of fashion as well. You can even configure HyperControl to send computer keyboard macros, which can be helpful for program functions that can't be MIDI mapped. For more information on HyperControl compatibility with your DAW of choice, M-Audio has published documentation on their website which spells out the options for the major platforms out there.

When the Axiom Pro line was announced, it drew immediate comparisons to Novation's firmly established Remote SL family of MIDI keyboards. The Remote SL is the high end of the Novation line, with an eye-popping 56 knobs, faders and buttons sitting above a high-quality Fatar keybed. As evidenced by the MKII tag, this is the second generation of the Remote SL family. The differences from the first are noticeable, with the MKII giving up one LCD screen in order to gain touch-sensitive controls and LED feedback for the endless knobs.

The touch-sensitivity of the controls is a pretty big positive, as it works in concert with Novation's renowned Automap software—which pops into view when you touch a control to show you what parameter it currently has assigned. Since the previous piece in March, Novation has released version 4 of Automap. Among these updates are a new streamlined setup process and more options to allow you to configure the level of GUI feedback shown for control changes.

The Remote SL has two advantages over the Axiom Pro: The Automap software makes doing on-the-fly assignments much easier than HyperControl, thanks to the touch-sensitivity and the way that it can wrap plugins. Also, the Remote SL is better at controlling external hardware without the aid of a computer, thanks to its LCD display and template storage system.

If you're a fan of the legendary Akai MPC hardware sampler design with the square pad matrix, you should take a look at the Akai MPK 88. It has the same 4x4 pad layout as a real MPC (with true MPC pads) and a pretty full complement of knobs, faders and buttons. In addition to the pads, the MPK separates itself further from its competition with support for many of the original MPC features, like Note Repeat, Swing, Full Level, 16-Level, Tap Tempo and Time Division. To accomplish many of these, the MPK is smart enough to speak the language of MIDI Clock—either acting as the clock master, or by synchronizing itself to the clock being sent from your DAW.

With its 88 keys, the MPK is the first of the MIDI keyboards considered thus far that could support the full range of notes required to play any piano piece. While this may seem overkill for many people, if you have a piano background you understand how important it is to have the freedom to roam across the octaves. The MPK 88 also takes things even further, as its keybed is fully weighted to recreate the same hammer action of a grand piano.

As it ships, the MPK is unfortunately chained to a computer. Akai does not ship the MP6-1 power adapter, so you're forced to power the MPK via USB initially. This is an unfortunate omission for one of the higher priced keyboards in our list, but with all of the other features baked in, we can't complain too much about an extra 30 euro purchase.

Speaking of weighted keys, if you happen to be Francesco Tristano, or if you are a serious pianist who needs a MIDI controller that responds as closely to the real thing as it gets, check out the Studiologic Numa. Every one of the 88 keys of this minimalistically-styled keyboard is composed of solid body material and is weighted to match a grand piano. To give you an idea of how serious they are about it, on a real piano, the keys at the top of the piano have a lighter action (require less of a push) than the keys at the bottom. That's a side effect of the mechanics of a piano, and is subtle enough that most keyboard manufacturers don't give it a second thought. The Numa's keyboard, however, has this response mechanism built in.

Things get even crazier when you start to get into the way Numa handles velocity curves. Velocity curves are a way for keyboards to adjust the range of power of the notes to compensate for the player's style. Normally MIDI keyboards don't support velocity curve choices, and the ones that do only allow for a handful of options. The Numa has its own velocity curve engine called You Play, which can learn a player's style and generate a custom velocity curve for them. These personalized shapes can then be saved in one of the 15 velocity curve slots.

Unfortunately, once you get past the magnificent keyboard, there's not much to the Numa. The mod wheel is hidden on the side for some strange reason, and some users have reported issues with the touch-sensitive controls. However, if you're looking for the most authentic piano-style keyboard you can buy for under 1000 euros, the Numa is it.

If you happen to be a guitarist who wants to get into recording and producing, or if you are shopping for an audio interface in addition to a MIDI keyboard, the Pod Studio KB37 created by the guitar pedal specialists at Line 6 could be the best choice. The KB37 is the only keyboard among the Pod Studio family of devices which are USB audio interfaces created for recording guitar and vocals. In addition to six inputs and two outputs, the KB37 has 37 full-sized keys, pitch and mod wheel, a handful of buttons and knobs, and a pair of VU meters to monitor your volume levels.

What makes the Pod Studio keyboard unique is the high quality onboard preamps which are made for recording guitar and vocals, and the Pod Farm software. The Pod Farm is a virtual amp simulation software suite that allows you to route different amps, cabs, effect pedals and mic preamps to achieve the right tone. The effect chains can then be saved as presets, and any audio running into the Pod Studio keyboard interface is instantly affected by the preset, with zero latency introduced. It achieves the zero latency monitoring by running at the driver level, rather than as a plugin in your DAW host. The downside to this is that the audio goes into the DAW post-effect, which means that adjustments to the Pod Farm effects after recording aren't possible. As an alternative, the Pod Farm plugin mode can be unlocked via an upgrade purchasable on the Line 6 website—however in this age of unlimited choices, some forced creative limitations could be a good thing.

The last MIDI keyboard on our list follows the same multi-functional approach of the KB37, and takes it even further. In addition to being a MIDI keyboard (of course) and an audio interface like the KB37, the Ultranova is also a very powerful synthesizer based around the well-loved Supernova II rack synth made popular in the early '00s.

The synthesis portion is based on a pretty robust 3-oscillator virtual analog style engine, which allows up to 18 note polyphony. There are 14 conventional waveforms and 36 wavetables, 14 filter types, 6 envelope generators, 3 LFOs and 5 simultaneous FX per voice. Also, Novation provides a software editor that can run as a plug-in in your DAW, similar to the Virus Control plugin for the Access Virus TI line of synths.

The reason we are including the Ultranova in this list is that in addition to this synth engine and the 2-in 4-out audio interface, it has the same touch-sensitive knob technology of the other Novation MIDI controllers. It's only logical, therefore that Novation has included a mode to convert the Ultranova into an Automap-enabled MIDI controller at the push of a button, with the touch-sensitive knobs being able to be assigned and control the parameters of a plugin or DAW.

In the market for a MIDI keyboard and have some money to spend? Step right up.

As you may recall, back in March we took a head-first dive into the crowded world of MIDI keyboard controllers. In doing so, we sifted through the many options out there—selecting a handful of the top items on the market and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each. Those comparisons often lent themselves naturally to a certain type of artist who we thought would be a good match for a given keyboard—after all, as in many things, what's best for me might not be best for you.

That initial piece was constrained to the keyboards that could be bought new for less than 200 euros, and as such featured mostly smaller, more mobile units designed for touring or producing on the go. When it comes time to shop for a keyboard for a studio environment, however, most likely you're going to be looking for something with a higher build quality, a larger octave range, and most likely some way of controlling your DAW. To that end, for this follow-up we increased the budget to 1000 euros and looked for the best of the best when it comes to the heart of many studios—the master MIDI keyboard.

The first on this list is the brand most people (especially in the US) associate with MIDI keyboards. M-Audio has been in the game for nearly a decade, starting with the ubiquitous Oxygen 25 back in 2002. Introduced in 2009, the Axiom Pro line is the newest generation of M-Audio's MIDI lineup, and has quite a few new tricks up its sleeve.

Behind its rather unusual white exterior (a bold choice) lies a surprisingly sophisticated controller that allows for two-way communication between most major DAWs via its HyperControl Technology. Believe it or not, this actually allows for more out-of-the-box integrated control over DAWs like Logic, Cubase, and Ableton Live than you can find with more established platforms like Novation's Automap.

For example, when using HyperControl within Logic you can actually load and control Logic's internal effects from the Axiom Pro keyboard itself. In Ableton Live, almost every internal device has been mapped in some sort of fashion as well. You can even configure HyperControl to send computer keyboard macros, which can be helpful for program functions that can't be MIDI mapped. For more information on HyperControl compatibility with your DAW of choice, M-Audio has published documentation on their website which spells out the options for the major platforms out there.

When the Axiom Pro line was announced, it drew immediate comparisons to Novation's firmly established Remote SL family of MIDI keyboards. The Remote SL is the high end of the Novation line, with an eye-popping 56 knobs, faders and buttons sitting above a high-quality Fatar keybed. As evidenced by the MKII tag, this is the second generation of the Remote SL family. The differences from the first are noticeable, with the MKII giving up one LCD screen in order to gain touch-sensitive controls and LED feedback for the endless knobs.

The touch-sensitivity of the controls is a pretty big positive, as it works in concert with Novation's renowned Automap software—which pops into view when you touch a control to show you what parameter it currently has assigned. Since the previous piece in March, Novation has released version 4 of Automap. Among these updates are a new streamlined setup process and more options to allow you to configure the level of GUI feedback shown for control changes.

The Remote SL has two advantages over the Axiom Pro: The Automap software makes doing on-the-fly assignments much easier than HyperControl, thanks to the touch-sensitivity and the way that it can wrap plugins. Also, the Remote SL is better at controlling external hardware without the aid of a computer, thanks to its LCD display and template storage system.

If you're a fan of the legendary Akai MPC hardware sampler design with the square pad matrix, you should take a look at the Akai MPK 88. It has the same 4x4 pad layout as a real MPC (with true MPC pads) and a pretty full complement of knobs, faders and buttons. In addition to the pads, the MPK separates itself further from its competition with support for many of the original MPC features, like Note Repeat, Swing, Full Level, 16-Level, Tap Tempo and Time Division. To accomplish many of these, the MPK is smart enough to speak the language of MIDI Clock—either acting as the clock master, or by synchronizing itself to the clock being sent from your DAW.

With its 88 keys, the MPK is the first of the MIDI keyboards considered thus far that could support the full range of notes required to play any piano piece. While this may seem overkill for many people, if you have a piano background you understand how important it is to have the freedom to roam across the octaves. The MPK 88 also takes things even further, as its keybed is fully weighted to recreate the same hammer action of a grand piano.

As it ships, the MPK is unfortunately chained to a computer. Akai does not ship the MP6-1 power adapter, so you're forced to power the MPK via USB initially. This is an unfortunate omission for one of the higher priced keyboards in our list, but with all of the other features baked in, we can't complain too much about an extra 30 euro purchase.

Speaking of weighted keys, if you happen to be Francesco Tristano, or if you are a serious pianist who needs a MIDI controller that responds as closely to the real thing as it gets, check out the Studiologic Numa. Every one of the 88 keys of this minimalistically-styled keyboard is composed of solid body material and is weighted to match a grand piano. To give you an idea of how serious they are about it, on a real piano, the keys at the top of the piano have a lighter action (require less of a push) than the keys at the bottom. That's a side effect of the mechanics of a piano, and is subtle enough that most keyboard manufacturers don't give it a second thought. The Numa's keyboard, however, has this response mechanism built in.

Things get even crazier when you start to get into the way Numa handles velocity curves. Velocity curves are a way for keyboards to adjust the range of power of the notes to compensate for the player's style. Normally MIDI keyboards don't support velocity curve choices, and the ones that do only allow for a handful of options. The Numa has its own velocity curve engine called You Play, which can learn a player's style and generate a custom velocity curve for them. These personalized shapes can then be saved in one of the 15 velocity curve slots.

Unfortunately, once you get past the magnificent keyboard, there's not much to the Numa. The mod wheel is hidden on the side for some strange reason, and some users have reported issues with the touch-sensitive controls. However, if you're looking for the most authentic piano-style keyboard you can buy for under 1000 euros, the Numa is it.

If you happen to be a guitarist who wants to get into recording and producing, or if you are shopping for an audio interface in addition to a MIDI keyboard, the Pod Studio KB37 created by the guitar pedal specialists at Line 6 could be the best choice. The KB37 is the only keyboard among the Pod Studio family of devices which are USB audio interfaces created for recording guitar and vocals. In addition to six inputs and two outputs, the KB37 has 37 full-sized keys, pitch and mod wheel, a handful of buttons and knobs, and a pair of VU meters to monitor your volume levels.

What makes the Pod Studio keyboard unique is the high quality onboard preamps which are made for recording guitar and vocals, and the Pod Farm software. The Pod Farm is a virtual amp simulation software suite that allows you to route different amps, cabs, effect pedals and mic preamps to achieve the right tone. The effect chains can then be saved as presets, and any audio running into the Pod Studio keyboard interface is instantly affected by the preset, with zero latency introduced. It achieves the zero latency monitoring by running at the driver level, rather than as a plugin in your DAW host. The downside to this is that the audio goes into the DAW post-effect, which means that adjustments to the Pod Farm effects after recording aren't possible. As an alternative, the Pod Farm plugin mode can be unlocked via an upgrade purchasable on the Line 6 website—however in this age of unlimited choices, some forced creative limitations could be a good thing.

The last MIDI keyboard on our list follows the same multi-functional approach of the KB37, and takes it even further. In addition to being a MIDI keyboard (of course) and an audio interface like the KB37, the Ultranova is also a very powerful synthesizer based around the well-loved Supernova II rack synth made popular in the early '00s.

The synthesis portion is based on a pretty robust 3-oscillator virtual analog style engine, which allows up to 18 note polyphony. There are 14 conventional waveforms and 36 wavetables, 14 filter types, 6 envelope generators, 3 LFOs and 5 simultaneous FX per voice. Also, Novation provides a software editor that can run as a plug-in in your DAW, similar to the Virus Control plugin for the Access Virus TI line of synths.

The reason we are including the Ultranova in this list is that in addition to this synth engine and the 2-in 4-out audio interface, it has the same touch-sensitive knob technology of the other Novation MIDI controllers. It's only logical, therefore that Novation has included a mode to convert the Ultranova into an Automap-enabled MIDI controller at the push of a button, with the touch-sensitive knobs being able to be assigned and control the parameters of a plugin or DAW.